The prior art embraces cigarette packets of rigid, hinge-lid type comprising an outer wrapper embodied as a box, and a lid attached hingedly to the box; also, a stiffening frame secured in part to the box and serving to keep the lid correctly and stably in position when the box is closed.
The box contains a group of cigarettes, enveloped by an inner wrapper of metal foil paper.
One of the drawbacks associated with such a packet is that, after opening the lid and removing part of the inner wrapper to gain access to the contents, the entire group of cigarettes remains exposed to the surrounding air, hence inadequately protected, until the last one is taken from the packet, by which time there will have been a loss of aroma, of moisture, and consequently of organoleptic properties.
A further drawback consists in the fact that, since the group is formed by a plurality of cigarettes arranged in layers, once a few single cigarettes have been removed, the remainder tend to detach one from another and shift internally of the box, with the result that tobacco is shed from their respective ends.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above.